Jets may have Bogo back
Ailing blue-liner day-to-day after returning to practice
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/10/2014 (3992 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
NEW YORK — It’s long been a theory that coaches shouldn’t mess with a winning lineup, but the Winnipeg Jets could soon be welcoming back more than Evander Kane during their four-game road trip.
Defenceman Zach Bogosian, who missed Tuesday’s win over the Islanders with an upper-body injury, was back on the ice Wednesday. He’s listed as day-to-day.
“It felt good to be back on the ice,” said Bogosian. “I’ll just take it day by day and see where we’re at (Thursday) morning. I hope (to be able to play against the Devils), but like I said it’s day by day. I’ll see how it reacts today and how it feels (Thursday) morning.”
Bogosian’s absence was filled capably by Paul Postma in the win over the Isles. Postma was paired with Toby Enstrom, played 19 minutes and 23 seconds and scored a goal.
“I finished the year off with Toby last year,” said Postma. “He’s such a smart player. I know where he’s going to be out there. He thinks the game really well and I think we play well together and complement each other well.”
TOUGH CRITIC: Winnipeg’s Travis Zajac has had better nights. But following the New Jersey Devils’ 8-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday, Zajac spent some time admonishing himself for his sins.
“I’m supposed to be a leader. I’ve got to get my head out of my (butt),” Zajac told Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger. “I wasn’t playing well enough.”
Zajac was demoted to the fourth line in the game and took a too-many-men penalty with the Devils up 3-1 that gave the Pens a two-man advantage. Pittsburgh scored to make it 3-2 and the comeback was on in full.
Later, Zajac turned the puck over and it led to another goal when the game was tied.
“We were fine. We were up, 3-1. We were still fine when they tied it up and I think I made a bad turnover on the 4-3 goal and I think it just kind of snowballed from there,” Zajac said. “I’ve got to get the puck in deep and make better plays. They’re skilled. We were fine up until then.”
TWO, MAKE IT THREE? The Jets held an optional skate at the Prudential Center on Wednesday and the mood was noticeably light. What does two wins do for a club?
“It lets you talk on the ice now instead of forcing it,” said Jets coach Paul Maurice. “The guys are having some fun being around each other, the energy level gets up. It’s important… that’s why you have to have stretches of good hockey. You need to have that psychological boost and you’re excited to come back to the rink. We’ve played some pretty solid hockey, too, so there’s a better buy-in on the game plan.”
Maurice was then asked if, when this team reaches a level of consistency, its peaks and valleys will be less pronounced.
“Not in Canada,” he said with a smile.
“That’s part of what we deal with. That’s something you have to learn to work through. The losses usually aren’t as bad as they feel at the time and the wins aren’t quite as great. Even early on when we were struggling, I wasn’t particularly worried about the offence, believe it or not. It’s just the other parts of our game that cost us offence and gave the other team defence. We need to be able to win a game like we did against Colorado. I think there’s a real payoff playing well in the third period at 1-1. That’s a real good sign for our team.”
KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE… AND THE CONVERSATIONS BRIEF: Maurice and Devils coach Peter DeBoer are longtime friends. But that hardly meant they were spending Wednesday night trading stories and slapping backs around a bucket of beers.
“We had our five-minute chat at the rink,” Maurice said. “He stopped by, we said hello. He’s a real good friend of mine. But, it’s funny… if it was the summer time we’d talk for three hours but because we’re playing each other tomorrow night and we both need the win so it was nice to catch up, but that will be it.”
ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait
